Lenten Midweek I: “Eyes on Jesus: Betraying Eyes”[1]
March
4, 2020
Text: Mark
14:10-21, 32, 41-46
What a despicable wretch! What a miserable excuse for a human
being! I’m speaking of Judas, of
course. His name is synonymous with
betrayal. And honestly, what a
duplicitous traitor! Such a plunge from
such lofty heights! So Almighty God
comes down into flesh and blood and chooses you, Judas, to be one of His
closest friends, even trusts you with His money. He takes you with Him everywhere He goes. He confides in you. You’re a part of all His business. You share His bread, His cup. He numbers you among the holders of the most
sacred office in God’s Kingdom, Apostle.
And what do you do? You lift your
heel against Him. You sell Him out for thirty
pieces of silver. You concoct a secret
scheme with the chief priests to hand Him over in the dead of sacred Passover
night, under cloak of darkness, in a secluded place, Jesus’ favorite, the
Garden of Gethsemane. You lead a mob
with swords and clubs to the spot. You
give the secret code. You approach in
mock loyalty. “Rabbi,” you
address Him. Teacher. Literally, “My Great One.” And then you kiss Him. And the bloodthirsty crowd does what they
came to do. They lay hands on Him and
seize Him.
It’s no wonder the evangelists
express so much pain and disappointment with every mention of Judas’ name. They can’t get over the shock and the hurt of
the infidelity. We, also, enjoy getting
our licks in when it comes to the turncoat.
There is a sense of poetic justice when we read Peter’s sermon in Acts,
how Judas bought a field with the reward for his wickedness and fell headlong,
bursting open in the middle, so that his bowels gushed out (Acts 1:18). St. Luke’s account is vivid as he describes
Judas’ demise on the Field of Blood (v. 19).
But not so fast. Don’t enjoy
this. This is tragedy in the full sense
of the word. And whatever you do, don’t
let Judas become the springboard for your own quest for self-justification and
exaltation. Look at this pathetic figure
and recognize: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
Isn’t it interesting when Jesus
announces in the Upper Room that one of the disciples would betray Him, as they
all react with a grief-stricken and terrified “Is it I?” (Mark 14:19;
ESV), Jesus doesn’t say to a one of them, “No, it isn’t you”? Why doesn’t He put at least some of their
consciences at rest? Because they
will all betray Him! Strike the
Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.
They all flee in the heat of the moment, at His arrest in the
Garden. Peter and John follow at a safe
distance, but when the questions around the fire get hot, Peter denies
Him. After the deed is done, all of the
Apostles, without exception, hide.
In fear and in shame. They hide. Of course, Jesus was indicating Judas with
His prophecy of betrayal, but not only Judas.
And not only the Apostles.
Beloved in the Lord, He’s talking about you.
Almighty God has come down into
flesh and blood, and He’s chosen you to be His own. He calls you friend. He trusts you, not just with money, but with
His Kingdom and all His gifts. He is
with you wherever you go, not just in some spiritual sense, but bodily, with
you and in you as one who takes Him in through your ears and by mouth in the
eating and drinking of His body and blood.
You’re a part of all His business.
You share His bread, His cup. He
numbers you among the holders of a most sacred office, the priesthood of the
redeemed. And what do you do? You lift your heel against Him. You sell Him out for your own safety and
prosperity. You keep your Christian
mouth shut when you should speak. You
hide Jesus when He’s politically incorrect and embarrassing. You pretend He doesn’t exist when you do
things He tells you not to do. You
ignore His voice and your own conscience when you don’t do things He tells you
you should do. “Rabbi,” you call Him, my
Teacher, my Great One, as you greet Him with a kiss. But you also kiss the silver in your pocket,
in which you trust for daily bread and the necessities and luxuries of
life. Don’t be so hard on Judas. Every time you sin, you follow His
anti-apostolic example. “Is it I, Lord?” Jesus is not saying no. “Is it I?”
You know the answer. Repent.
Yes, repent. That is the difference between Judas and
Peter, between Judas and the other eleven.
Judas was sorry, of course. So
sorry, He went out and hanged himself.
And even that didn’t go so well, as we heard from Luke in Acts. He died in despair over his sins. But that isn’t what we mean by
repentance. Repentance is not only
sorrow for sin, it is faith. It is faith
in the very Lord Jesus whom we have betrayed.
For the death into which Judas handed Him over, the death our sins
caused… that death is for Judas, for you, for me, and for us all, for the
forgiveness of those very sins! And, as
it happens, this was God’s plan all along.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this does not excuse Judas from responsibility
for his actions. Nor does it excuse you
for yours. No, it forgives you
for yours. The Gospel does not
excuse. It forgives. God took this great evil, Judas’ betrayal,
the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion of our Lord, and turned it into the
ultimate good, the salvation of the world, forgiveness and eternal life for you
and for all believers in Christ. The
great tragedy is that this was for Judas, too.
If only he had received it. Judas
was not beyond the pale of our Lord’s saving work. He was not out of reach of our Lord’s
love. And if that is true of Judas, then
it is true of you. Whatever you’ve
done. Wherever you’ve been. Whoever you are. Jesus died for you. For the forgiveness of your sins. For your salvation and eternal life. Judas would not have it. But you have it right here and now in
Christ’s absolving Word and in the fruits of His cross, His body given for you,
His blood shed for you, at His Table to which He still invites you. Your betrayal is forgiven, in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word for “betray” can
also be translated “to hand over” to “to deliver.” The same word used to indicate Judas’
betrayal of Jesus, St. Paul uses for the handing over, the delivery, of Jesus
in the Lord’s Supper. “For I received
from the Lord what I also delivered,” handed over, “to you, that the
Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed,” delivered, handed over, “took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body
which is for you… this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:23-25).
Jesus was handed over by Judas, by God, into death for the
forgiveness of our sins. Now the
crucified and risen Jesus hands Himself over for us poor sinners to eat and to
drink for the forgiveness of our sins.
We’re delivered from our betrayal and given once again to share the
Lord’s bread, the Bread of Life. That is
how deep and wide the grace of God, His mercy, His love, is for us in Christ
Jesus. Do not despair. Rejoice.
Jesus, the Crucified, is handed over for you! Our Lord restored Peter and the eleven. By the Word of Life and the Bread from
Heaven, He restores you. In the Name of
the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] The theme and many of the ideas in
this sermon are taken from Eyes on Jesus (St. Louis: Concordia, 2019).
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